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As parents and guardians, it may be difficult to know and understand what goes on in your child's mind. It may even be more surprising to find out that they are in some extreme kind of pain that they end up harming their selves. 

At this point, you are likely to experience pain as well. That is on top of all the confusion and questions you may have. Self-harm, self-injury, self-mutilation, or self-abuse come in forms other than the commonly known way of cutting. Some also do it through burning, drawing blood, drinking harmful chemicals, and others.

(Photo : Dollar Gill / Unsplash)

Why Do Children Harm Themselves?

It may be a common misconception that children do this as a sign that they want to die or commit suicide - this is not true. However, new studies about self-harm as non-suicidal self-injury or NSSI said that the longer that it is not addressed, the closer the person is to having thoughts of dying or suicide.

While there is no exact single cause of self-harm, children and teens do it as an outlet for feeling immense pain, loneliness, or worthlessness. Scientifically, self-harm causes the body to react and release endorphins, which momentarily relieves children from the emotional pain or trauma that they are feeling.

How to Offer Your Help

As parents and guardians, the best help to offer children who harm themselves starts with proper communication. Understanding why they do it will help you decide and address the problem.

Listening and responding carefully will let them know that they are not alone and that someone understands what they are going through. It may also be necessary to assess if you and your child need professional help.